Washingtonians 'deserve better' in town hall

The first Tuesday in November will be a crossroad for Washington and its citizens.

This is not merely an example of political hyperbole. The overriding concern in this election is the level of integrity and transparency that we want in our elected leaders.

Mark Lyon and Jim Brinton are the two men that we need to swing the pendulum back toward the accountability and responsiveness that we deserve from local government.

Four years ago I voted for Dick Sears with the feeling that he was the man to take the next step forward with. It didn't take long for me to experience a case of buyer's remorse that has only grown over the years.

The best example of the credibility deficit that we now suffer from would be the abortive Potter Farm proposition from this past winter. At the start of this saga three "informational" forums were scheduled, ostensibly to inform the taxpayers about the details of the proposition in an unbiased fashion.

Unfortunately, the first two forums were essentially infomercials hosted by Mr. Sears that were clearly meant to sell the virtues of this deal. Public pressure forced Mr. Sears to yield the third forum to a more unbiased presentation.

However, the proposition had virtually no public support and was effectively dead in the water at that point. Soon after that, the offer was withdrawn.

The Democratic Town Committee (DTC) is spinning pretty vigorously out of the blocks. I'd like to correct the record on a few of their talking points.

It's a bit amusing to me that fiscal conservatism is being touted. If Mr. Sears had his way on the Potter Farm proposition, the town would have taken on $1 million of new debt that would have created over $200,000 in debt service.

This debt would have been tacked onto the debt that will be incurred when Region 12 settles on a plan for the primary school(s).

Our citizens kept that charge from being added to the tab, not Mr. Sears.

As far as the comment about Mr. Sears working with land use boards and backing them up is concerned, the operative word would be "blarney."

Mr. Sears has been smothering boards with his heavy-handed micro-management. If he's not micromanaging them, he's trying to circumvent the process entirely.

Board members of all political affiliations are frustrated with "Sears-logic." The various boards are starting to link arms and support each other in an effort to deal with the unprecedented level of intrusiveness from the first selectman.

Small towns around the area are coping with a diminishing pool of citizens to serve on volunteer committees. The ham-fisted tactics of Mr. Sears only exacerbate an already difficult situation.

I have one more bone to pick with the DTC in this letter. The DTC is assigning credit for "a courteous and well run town hall" to the current administration. My reply would be, "what?"

Allow me to explain my response.

The first selectman is not the boss of everyone in the Town Hall. Many positions and departments are established by state statute.

For instance, the town clerk is actually an agent of the Secretary of State. The first selectman has no oversight over positions established by statute. The folks that we citizens deal with at Bryan Memorial Town Hall have done their jobs properly long before the "Sears years" and I pray that they will continue to do so long after his exit.

Claiming credit for these people's good work is simply classless and they deserve an apology for that.

When Washingtonians see Mark and Jim over the next few months they should feel free to inquire about what they intend to do if given the chance. They understand the challenges and the opportunities that await them and are committed to opening up the process to all who want to participate.

We deserve better than what we've been getting. The good news is that we can turn this around.